3 Things To Guarantee Your Mobile Social CRM Strategy Will Fail

Social CRM offers a different set of challenges from those related to common IT or CRM projects. In order to achieve success it’s important that people learn and understand these differences enabling them to make decisions for their own organization.

Within each unique business the meaning of Social CRM typically goes far beyond just technology, and into what we hope to be engaging communication with customers. Technology provides enabling platforms and channels so that this engagement can occur, but it doesn’t mean a successful relationship will come to fruition. If failure occurs, it’s not a technology issue; it’s typically one of or a combination of the following things:

1. Poor Strategy. Success always requires specific plans, goals, and objectives. Without a clear direction in mind, then achieving progress and success becomes very unlikely. Before starting any social CRM initiative, define your goals and steps you would like to reach along the way. Then, realistically consider plans and actions that will take you in the right direction.

Here are some ways to set strategy in this type of environment.

Make sure you are not trying to “sell” social media. Collaborate and work closely with key players within the organization to put a strategy in place.

Develop specific business requirements and map to social business solutions. Consider whether you need a focused application or a multi-function platform.

Show how social business will lead to success in order to gain executive support. Show positive results from pilot projects.

Define and integrate success metrics into your project execution. Give ongoing feedback to stakeholders that your social business project is working.

Don’t assume everyone will welcome the use of social media. Some will "get it," others will adopt if given good support, and some will resist. Change must be managed.

2. Over-focus on technology. The technology part of social CRM is relatively easy: buy software, install it, and use it. Unfortunately, as many companies have discovered, merely putting up collaboration forums, for example, is meaningless unless accompanied by significant efforts to engage users.

3. Minimizing culture. Ultimately, social CRM represents a long-term process of change leading to greater commitment and engagement with customers. These changes require organizational leadership to support, and actively champion, customer-oriented goals inside the company. This frequently requires a culture shift that takes time to develop; changing an organization’s cultural DNA does not happen overnight.

Social Business is at a crossroads in a lot of ways. Instead of going to safe route or following the latest trend, decision-makers should focus on adding value to customers while driving results.